Republican presidential candidate and former US Senator Rick Santorum addresses the crowd in Johnston, Iowa, following the Iowa Caucus.EPA

DES MOINES, Iowa — Rick Santorum declared victory in the Iowa caucuses Thursday, after a final tally gave him a 34-vote edge — though not an official win — over Mitt Romney.

The final certified vote tally reverses the unofficial eight-vote win for Romney over Santorum that was announced the morning after the Jan. 3 voting.

But the actual vote count will forever remain in doubt because the results from eight precincts were mislaid and will never be certified.

Mitt Romney released a statement earlier Thursday calling the vote a “virtual tie,” but a Santorum spokesman told FOX News that Romney called Santorum Thursday “to congratulate Santorum for the vote in Iowa.”

The Santorum campaign interpreted the call as a concession, but the Romney campaign later said they have not conceded the state to Santorum, saying it was too close to call.

“Well then what was he calling to congratulate me for? Being here in South Carolina?” Santorum told FOX News while campaigning in the Palmetto State.

The Republican Party of Iowa said the final certified tally was 29,839 for Santorum and 29,805 for Romney, with a turnout of 121,503 in the Jan. 3 caucuses.

A total of 1,766 out of 1,774 precincts were officially certified in the Iowa vote. The missing results from eight other precincts will never be certified.

“This is a solid win,” Santorum said at a press conference in Mt. Pleasant, S.C. “This is a much stronger win than the one Mitt Romney claimed [before the certification].”

Santorum said the certified vote tally was evidence that undecided voters should turn to him, and not Newt Gingrich, as a viable conservative alternative to Mitt Romney, the front-runner for the nomination.

Santorum said voters now knew he could defeat Romney because “we defeated Romney in Iowa.”

Republican Party of Iowa chairman Matt Strawn avoided using the word “winner” in a statement that coincided with the release of the certified votes.

“Just as I did in the early morning hours on Jan. 4, I congratulate Senator Santorum and Governor Romney on a hard-fought effort during the closest contest in caucus history,” Strawn said. “Our goal throughout the certification process was to most accurately reflect and report how Iowans voted the evening of Jan. 3. We understand the importance to the candidates involved, but as Iowans, we understand the responsibility we have as temporary caretakers of the Iowa caucuses.”